The 2003 Challenge Tour was a series of golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tournaments known as the Challenge Tour

Challenge Tour

The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...

, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour

PGA European Tour

The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...

. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.

The Challenge Tour Rankings was won by Sweden's Johan Edfors

Johan Edfors

Johan Edfors is a Swedish professional golfer who plays primarily on the European Tour.Edfors was born in Varberg. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio on a Division I athletic scholarship for men's golf. He played for the team under the coaching of Barry Denton for two years.Edfors...

.

Tournament schedule

The table below shows the 2003 Challenge Tour schedule.

Dates	Tournament	Host country	Winner	Notes
30 Jan–2 Feb	Costa Rica Open Costa Rica Open The Costa Rica Open is a men's professional golf tournament that was played annually in Costa Rica until 2007. It was an event on the Tour de las Americas from 2002 until its replacement by the Costa Rica Golf Classic in 2008, and was also co-sanctioned by the European Challenge Tour from 2003.The...	Costa Rica Costa Rica Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....	Sebastián Fernández Sebastian Fernandez (golfer) Sebastián Fernández is an Argentine professional golfer.Fernández was born in Buenos Aires. He worked as a caddy in Buenos Aires, before turning professional in 1991. He won the Argentine Tour Order of Merit in 2000...
6–9 Feb	Telefonica Centro America Abierto de Guatemala	Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...	Daniel Vancsik Daniel Vancsik Daniel Vancsik is an Argentine professional golfer.Vancsik was born in Posadas, Argentina. He started playing the game when he was 12 at the Tacuru Club in Posadas-Misiones-Argentina....
13–16 Feb	American Express Los Encinos Open	Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...	James Hepworth
6–9 Mar	Stanbic Zambia Open	Zambia Zambia Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....	Johan Edfors Johan Edfors Johan Edfors is a Swedish professional golfer who plays primarily on the European Tour.Edfors was born in Varberg. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio on a Division I athletic scholarship for men's golf. He played for the team under the coaching of Barry Denton for two years.Edfors...
20–23 Mar	Madeira Island Open Madeira Island Open The Madeira Islands Open is a men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour, played on the Madeira Islands in Portugal. It was founded in 1993 and is often the first event of the season played in Europe, after the season has spent the northern winter in Asia, Australasia and South Africa...	Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...	Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge is a Welsh professional golfer.Dredge was born in Tredegar. He turned professional in 1996.Dredge attempted to gain his card on the European Tour via the qualifying school in 1995 and 1996, the second time doing sufficiently well to gain a place on the Challenge Tour for 1997...	European Tour event, 50% prize money
10–13 Apr	Panalpina Banque Commerciale du Maroc Classic	Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...	Greig Hutcheon
8–11 May	Tessali - Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Martin LeMesurier
15–18 May	Izki Challenge de España	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Martin Erlandsson Martin Erlandsson -Career:Erlandsson was a top amateur golfer, representing Sweden in the 1996 Eisenhower Trophy before turning professional the following year. He joined the Challenge Tour, where he spent seven seasons before winning his first tournament in 2003 at the Izki Challenge de España and earning promotion...
15–18 May	Fortis Challenge Open	Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	Johan Edfors Johan Edfors Johan Edfors is a Swedish professional golfer who plays primarily on the European Tour.Edfors was born in Varberg. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio on a Division I athletic scholarship for men's golf. He played for the team under the coaching of Barry Denton for two years.Edfors...
5–8 Jun	Nykredit Danish Open	Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...	Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser is an Australian professional golfer.Born in Corowa, New South Wales, Fraser spent his early years working at a supermarket He completed a distinguished amateur career in 2002, finishing as the top individual in the Eisenhower Trophy world teams event.He turned professional in 2002...
12–15 Jun	Aa St Omer Open Aa St Omer Open The Saint-Omer Open is an annual men's professional golf tournament which played at Saint-Omer Golf Club in Saint-Omer, France. The tournament was founded in 1997 and was part of the MasterCard Tour a year later, before taking its place on the Challenge Tour for the 2000 season...	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Brett Rumford Brett Rumford Brett Michael Rumford is an Australian professional golfer.Rumford was born and grew up in Perth, Western Australia. He started playing golf at age ten, quickly showing a natural hand–eye coordination which translated to a well-respected short game...	Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
19–22 Jun	Clearstream International Luxembourg Open	Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...	Martin LeMesurier
26–29 Jun	Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge The Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that was played at Golfclub Rittergut Birkhof in Korschenbroich, Germany from 2001 to 2005.-Winners:-External links:*...	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	Michael Jonzon Michael Jonzon Michael Jonzon is a Swedish professional golfer.Jonzon was born in Skara, Sweden. He turned professional in 1991 and has spent most of his career on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour...
3–6 Jul	Volvo Finnish Open Volvo Finnish Open The Volvo Finnish Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour from 1989 until 2004. It was played at Espoon Golfseura in Espoo, Finland. It was founded as the Scandinavian Tipo Trophy before being sponsored by Volvo from 1991.-Winners:...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	Jamie Elson Jamie Elson Jamie Elson is an English professional golfer.Elson was born in Leamington Spa, England. He attended Augusta State University in the U.S. and turned professional in 2003....
10–13 Jul	Open des Volcans Challenge de France	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Ivó Giner
17–20 Jul	Kitzbühel Golf Alpin Open	Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	David Geall
24–27 Jul	Golf Padova Terme Euganee International Open	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Ivó Giner
31 Jul–3 Aug	Talma Finnish Challenge Talma Finnish Challenge The Talma Finnish Challenge was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour between 2001 and 2003. It was played annually at Golf Talma in Sipoo, Finland.-Winners:-External links:*...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser is an Australian professional golfer.Born in Corowa, New South Wales, Fraser spent his early years working at a supermarket He completed a distinguished amateur career in 2002, finishing as the top individual in the Eisenhower Trophy world teams event.He turned professional in 2002...
14–17 Aug	BMW Russian Open	Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...	Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser is an Australian professional golfer.Born in Corowa, New South Wales, Fraser spent his early years working at a supermarket He completed a distinguished amateur career in 2002, finishing as the top individual in the Eisenhower Trophy world teams event.He turned professional in 2002...	Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
21–24 Aug	Rolex Trophy Rolex Trophy The Rolex Trophy is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, that is played in Geneva, Switzerland. It has been held annually since 1991.Unlike many Challenge Tour events, the Rolex Trophy has been played at the same venue, the Golf Club de Genève, every year...	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	Michael Jonzon Michael Jonzon Michael Jonzon is a Swedish professional golfer.Jonzon was born in Skara, Sweden. He turned professional in 1991 and has spent most of his career on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour...
28–31 Aug	Skandia PGA Open Skandia PGA Open The Skandia PGA Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour. It was played annually in Sweden from 2001 to 2005.-Winners:-External links:*...	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Titch Moore Titch Moore Trevor Richard "Titch" Moore is a South African professional golfer. He currently plays on the Sunshine Tour, where he has won seven times between 2000 and 2007....
4–7 Sept	BA-CA Golf Open	Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	Robert Coles Robert Coles (golfer) Robert Coles is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Coles was born in Hornchurch, England. He turned professional in 1994....
11–14 Sept	Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters	Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...	Darren Clarke Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the European Tour and has previously played on the PGA Tour. He has won 22 tournaments worldwide on a number of golf's main tours including the European Tour, the PGA Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the...
18–21 Sept	Telia Grand Prix	Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	Euan Little Euan Little -Career:Little turned professional in 1996 having represented Scotland as an amateur. Having reached the final stage of qualifying school that year, he played qualified for the Challenge Tour and played steadily at that level for the next five seasons, finishing runner-up twice, before claiming his...
2–5 Oct	Open de Toulouse	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	Scott Drummond Scott Drummond Scott Drummond is a British golfer.Drummond was born in Shrewsbury in England. He played amateur golf for England but decided to represent Scotland, the country of his father, when he turned professional in 1996....
9–12 Oct	Ryder Cup Wales Challenge	Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...	Craig Williams
16–19 Oct	Turespaña Mallorca Classic	Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...	Miguel Ángel Jiménez Miguel Angel Jiménez Miguel Ángel Jiménez Rodríguez is a Spanish professional golfer. He has won 18 times on the European Tour.-Early years:...	Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
23–26 Oct	Challenge Tour Grand Final Challenge Tour Grand Final The Challenge Tour Grand Final is the season ending tour championship on the Challenge Tour. It has been played annually since 1995 at various courses. Usually it takes place in Southern Europe, but in 1999 and 2000 it was played in Cuba. The tournament has had several sponsored names. The field...	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	José Manuel Carriles

Rankings

The top 15 on the Challenge Tour Rankings gained membership of the European Tour for the 2004 season.

Position	Player	Country	Prize money (€ Euro The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,... )
1	Johan Edfors Johan Edfors Johan Edfors is a Swedish professional golfer who plays primarily on the European Tour.Edfors was born in Varberg. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio on a Division I athletic scholarship for men's golf. He played for the team under the coaching of Barry Denton for two years.Edfors...		94,509
2	Martin LeMesurier		88,644
3	José Manuel Carilles		86,604
4	Martin Wiegele Martin Wiegele Martin Wiegele is a Austrian professional golfer.Wiegele was born in Graz. He turned professional in 2003 when he joined the second tier Challenge Tour. He enjoyed some success during his first season finishing fourth on the end of season rankings to graduate to the top level European Tour for 2004...		86,057
5	Peter Hanson Peter Hanson Peter Hanson is a Swedish professional golfer.Hanson was born in Svedala, Sweden. He turned professional in 1998 and has played on the Challenge Tour and the European Tour. His professional wins include the 1998 Gunther Hamburg Classics on the Challenge Tour and the 2005 Open de España on the...		83,663
6	Martin Erlandsson Martin Erlandsson -Career:Erlandsson was a top amateur golfer, representing Sweden in the 1996 Eisenhower Trophy before turning professional the following year. He joined the Challenge Tour, where he spent seven seasons before winning his first tournament in 2003 at the Izki Challenge de España and earning promotion...		80,426
7	Scott Drummond Scott Drummond Scott Drummond is a British golfer.Drummond was born in Shrewsbury in England. He played amateur golf for England but decided to represent Scotland, the country of his father, when he turned professional in 1996....		79,774
8	Stuart Little		73,554
9	Sebastián Fernández Sebastian Fernandez (golfer) Sebastián Fernández is an Argentine professional golfer.Fernández was born in Buenos Aires. He worked as a caddy in Buenos Aires, before turning professional in 1991. He won the Argentine Tour Order of Merit in 2000...		72,115
10	Jamie Elson Jamie Elson Jamie Elson is an English professional golfer.Elson was born in Leamington Spa, England. He attended Augusta State University in the U.S. and turned professional in 2003....		70,551
11	James Hepworth		67,971
12	Michael Jonzon Michael Jonzon Michael Jonzon is a Swedish professional golfer.Jonzon was born in Skara, Sweden. He turned professional in 1991 and has spent most of his career on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour...		66,308
13	Robert Coles Robert Coles (golfer) Robert Coles is an English professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.Coles was born in Hornchurch, England. He turned professional in 1994....		65,869
14	Ivó Giner		60,636
15	Ben Mason Ben Mason -Professional career:Mason turned professional in 1999 after a successful amateur career which included reaching the semifinals of The Amateur Championship in 1998. He joined the second-tier Challenge Tour in 2001 and from 2003 to 2005 he played full-time on the European Tour, where his best...		59,829

External links

• Official homepage of the Challenge Tour